It's a long rocky road for the Amorite people but their influence is remarkable. Amorites make their first recorded appearance in a Sumerian text c. 2500 BCE, during the progressive pace of the early middle Bronze Age. The Amorites speak a northwestern Semitic language from the Levant.
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Once in place the civilization blazes across the land. The Amorites build several important cities including Ebla and later Babylon. They occupy most of the Levant, with its desert jewels and turquoise seas.
By the time of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (22nd - 21st century BCE) comes to an end, the Amorites are pouring in at an alarming rate. Kings are forced to construct massive walls to keep them out.
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By the 21st century BCE they control Mesopotamia, Levant and parts of Egypt. While in Egypt they also establish the 14th Dynasty in the Nile Delta. In the near East, the Amorites reign until c. 17th century BCE.
Akkadian and Sumerian writings use the term Amurru to identify the Amorites, their principal deity, and an Amorite kingdom. The Amorite King of the Gods, Dagan, rules the Upper Eurphrates. He's called Amurru in Sumerian and Akkadian sources, from the name used to refer to the Amorite people.
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The Amorites are shown as nomadic tribes in a chieftain based society. Neither their looks nor manners go over well, as one Sumerian myth explains:
"Now listen, their hands are destructive and their features are those of monkeys; (An Amorite) is one who eats what (the Moon-god) Nanna forbids and does not show reverence.
"They never stop roaming about ... they are an abomination to the gods’ dwellings. Their ideas are confused; they cause only disturbance. (The Amorite) is clothed in sack-leather ... lives in a tent, exposed to wind and rain, and cannot properly recite prayers.
"He lives in the mountains and ignores the places of gods, digs up truffles in the foothills, does not know how to bend the knee (in prayer), and eats raw flesh. He has no house during his life, and when he dies he will not be carried to a burial-place. My girlfriend, why would you marry Martu?"
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In Egypt, the Amorite influence takes hold from c. 19th century BCE. Rulers of the Fourteenth Dynasty have Amorite names. In Syria, the Ugaritic language is thought to be a dialect of the Amorites.
By 1650 BCE the Hyskos, a West Asian group in northern Egypt, overrule the Amorites and establish the 15th Dynasty. After the fall of Babylon shortly thereafter the Amorites lose power as their cities struggle to survive the takeover attempts of aggressive incoming groups.
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After the mid-2nd millennium BCE, Syrian Amorites fall under the power of the Hittites. In the 14th century BCE the Amorites mingle with other tribes of people, who speak the West Semitic language, during the Late Bronze Age collapse. After c. 1200 BCE, the Amorites have disappeared from public records.
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